Intuitional Affiliation
Managing Competing Agendas in Technological Sector
The world is experiencing a shift of paradigm regarding different issues. It is becoming difficult for the governments of numerous nations to overcome challenges which are directly related to the economic conditions and social welfare (Liu & Guan, 2016). The USA also has all the resources which are required to ensure their policies related to the technological issues and its implementation. Moreover, the objectives are being achieved in the short term and long term period. One of the departments which is directly related to the technology is the office of science and technology, and it is considered as the part of the Executive Office of the President. This essay analyzes the structure and impact of this department on the issues related to the technology and managing competing agendas.
The office of science and technology is responsible for providing different kinds of information to the President and his senior staff. The information should be scientific and technical in nature, accurate according to the requirements and should be developed on a timely basis. It is also part of their responsibility that the policies developed for the technology should be based on proper research and free from any kind of technical errors. The recommendations for the policies should have the capability of delivering benefits to the general public and also ensure overall economic prosperity. The objectives of the department also include the creation of a strong working relationship between the different representatives of the industry and government officials (The White House, 2016a). This department is further divided into many different kinds of divisions such as Environment and Energy, National Security and International Affairs, Science, Technology and Innovation. The department has developed a diversified working framework and according to it, every division interacts with each other for developing policies which are essential for strengthening USA scientific and technology enterprise.
The department is being controlled by a higher administration that consists of President, Vice President, the senior leadership of White House as well as a board of advisors. Due to this, it becomes easy for the department to develop and implement certain kinds of strategies which are compatible with the needs of the market (Eda.admin.ch, 2016). This further makes the organizational culture of the department more effective and strong. Moreover, it becomes easy to implement newly developed policies because they have all the resources available with strong administration powers. Subsequently, the department has developed many strategies towards recruiting new human resource, and they prefer to introduce different kinds of internships as well as permanent job opportunities to high skilled professionals with core expertise in the field of science and technology. If one analyze the performance of this administration, he can observe that it is creating a positive impact on solving the problems related to the technology issue. For instance, the White House initiative towards technology in 2011 provides a clear indication regarding working and developing policies for the benefits of the general public. The department has taken into account many strong initiatives towards the cyber security and internet policy, bringing technology from “Lab to Market” and especially steps related to the Tech hire initiatives. The other positive impact is that the President is directly involved with the department. Due to this, it becomes easy to implement the policies because full executive powers are backing it.
The office of science and technology is in direct partnership with the office of the management and budget. Due to this partnership, it becomes comfortable for the department to allocate budget for different kinds of issues related to the technology. It is the prime responsibility of the department to develop policies and implement the budget in such a way that the priorities of the administration are being reflected, and important national goals are being achieved. This department is creating a positive impact in resolving different kinds of issues related to the technology. For instance, President 2016 budget investments in the America’s future, Research, and Development as well as Innovation and Education. The other examples can be seen as the investment in Middle-Class Economics which will facilitate and improve the American innovations. In addition, Obama administration has proposed a $300 million for the program of brain initiative (The White House, 2016b). Special grants are being proposed for the research initiatives that provides more focus to technologies which can help in overcoming the challenges related to the energy sector.
The management of the department does have the support of all the government administration as well as the Congress (White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2014). This is because the department was basically created by the Congress and the political environment for the department is supportive. Hence, the department is performing according to the required level of commitment (State.gov, 2016). The government and the opposition do have some conflict on the budget arrangement for the office of science and technology. But it has been observed over the decades that after the creation of the department, the Congress do support the government in taking initiatives on the technological issues. The management of this department may face two challenges; one is related to the budget because the Congress may challenge it. The second challenge can be related to the change in government that may stop the continuity of current policies. The new administration can make their own policies that may result in a decrease in the budget of current projects.
In short, the overall performance reveals the capacity and commitment of this department towards the betterment of the society. The technological issue is being handled with serious efforts and strategic planning because it is responsible for creating jobs and bringing economic prosperity. The success of the policies developed by the department can also be analyzed through the development of private sector. Nowadays, the world is learning from the technology of USA because it is hard to achieve such success in a short period.
References
Eda.admin.ch,. (2016). Office of Science, Technology and Higher Education. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/usa/en/home/representations/embassy-washington/embassy-tasks/osthe.html
Liu, N., & Guan, J. (2016). Policy and innovation: Nanoenergy technology in the USA and China. Energy Policy, 91, 220-232.
The White House. (2016a). About OSTP. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about
The White House. (2016b). R&D Budgets. Retrieved 31 January 2016, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/rdbudgets
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. (2014). The 2015 Budget: Science, Technology, and Innovation for Opportunity and Growth. Executive office of the President of the United States. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/Fy%202015%20R&D.pdf
